Hoyer Discusses the Need to Avert A Government Shutdown on MSNBC's "The Ed Show"

“As you saw we had the 41st vote on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, today. Notwithstanding that, we didn't do anything else. That bill won't have any future. And we did not do what we need to do, and that is ensure that the government doesn't shut down on October 1st. But all [Republicans] are focused on is repealing Obamacare."

“It is a shame that we have been so unproductive in the last Congress and this Congress and it is hurting our economy. It is hurting the growth of jobs. You know, we have already cut … very substantial sums, a trillion dollars over the next ten years to reduce government spending. [Republicans] want to go further. They have got in place this sequestration which is irrational, common sense-defying, harmful and the CBO says it is going to cost us a million jobs if sequestration stays in place. I had a colloquy with [Majority Leader Eric] Cantor today and he said: I think sequestration does not make sense. Well fine, then let’s repeal it. We have an alternative to the sequester that will help bring down the deficit, balance our budget and yes, get some additional revenues. But [Republicans] reject that and they won’t even allow us to consider it on the Floor. So we're going to be here next week. They're going to try to figure out how they can get their Republicans to vote for anything that is not simply a repeal of Obamacare.”

“The Speaker needs to act in a way that shows leadership and responsibility. He knows that shutting down government is bad for the economy, bad for our national security, and bad for his party. But the issue is whether or not he can get his party to come along … I think there are a lot of conservatives in his party who understand that they need to be reasonable and rational. Hal Rogers of Kentucky, conservative Republican, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives, has said the sequester makes no sense, it cannot be implemented and it ought to be abandoned. Frankly, John Boehner, the Speaker, ought to take his Chairman of the Appropriations Committee's advice and pass the CR without the sequester and let us move on.”